Portable electronic devices, such as mobile telephones and tablet computers, are now in widespread use. Users employ these devices for a wide variety of functions include receiving and making audio and video calls, receiving and sending messages (e.g., electronic mail, text messages, multimedia messages, voice messages, etc.), maintaining a calendar, accessing the Internet, and running a number of applications.
Recent research has indicated that incoming calls and messages can cause a physiological stress response in users. Notifications are typically used to alert a user to incoming calls and messages, as well as other events such as calendar reminders. Without intending to be bound by theory, it is contemplated that a user's stress response may be caused, at least in part, by notifications and the circumstances in which they arise. For instance, stress may rise due to a relatively high volume of notifications in a given period of time, notifications for calls and messages originating from specific people or categories of people, or notifications that arrive when another potentially stress-invoking event is occurring.
Many electronic devices offer a “do not disturb” mode or a “silent” mode. In these modes, the manner in which notifications are output by the electronic device may be altered (e.g., made non-audible) or the number of notifications may be reduced by delaying the presentation of notifications until the mode is changed. The activation of one of these modes is a manual function that requires user action.